Mini holiday in Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra

Saturday morning our long weekend to North Sumatra started. A nice short flight, because an hour later we had already landed. Before we knew it we were sitting in the mini for the four-hour drive to Lake Toba.

Female immigration

When we arrived at Kuala Namu airport we had to pass the always feared immigration. We stood in line by a woman who was handing out the stamps and she didn’t look happy. So that’s always wrong, I think the female immigration is a lot less friendly towards a woman than the male one. Finally, after Jeroen showed her the ticket back to Kuala Lumpur, I got the stamp in my passport.

Bus station

We hadn’t reserved a taxi to Lake Toba in advance. On the internet, we read that you can easily get here at the airport itself. And this was true. When you leave the airport and walk towards the bus station, you will be overwhelmed with men who ask if you need to go to Parapat. You have to wait until they have found enough people for a van, this only takes five minutes. The cost, 9.000 Indonesian rupees per person, about €5.

Batak house

Most tourists stay on the island of Samosir in the town of Tuk Tuk. Here you can spend the night in a Batak house, a traditional house with decorations and a pointed roof. The boat from Parapat drops off all guests at their hotel. The owners are already waiting for you there. The people here are very friendly and very curious. They may look at you all the time, but they are also ready to help you. This happens in half English half Indonesian, but eventually, you will get there.

Ghost town

We walked around for two hours in Tuk Tuk where even during the day you won’t find tourists at all. According to the owner of a restaurant, the season still has to start and he hopes that this year many people will visit the island again. It looks a bit sad and one wonders what the people of such a restaurant do all day if there is no one to be found on this island. We have selected some things for the next day, so at six o’clock we took the last boat back to Parapat. Meanwhile, the market was cleaned up and the ghost town returned.

Volcanic crater

After 3,5 hours the road to the top became smaller and smaller so everyone knew that the lake was almost in sight. After hundreds of monkeys greeted us, we looked out over a huge lake with a huge island in the middle. A beautiful view from the top of the mountain to the huge volcanic crater with a gigantic lagoon below. We stayed in Hotel Atsari in the town of Parapat, where you have a nice view of Lake Toba.

Lost street dog

We had the whole day ahead of us so we decided to take the boat to the island of Samosir. On the way, we walked through a ghost town with closed souvenir shops and some stray dogs. Further on we saw more people and found the local market. Here everyone stared at us. This also happens in Kuala Lumpur, but now it’s even a degree worse. In the evening we found out that we are only one of the first tourists to visit Parapat and Lake Toba this season.

Mini holiday in Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra

Saturday morning our long weekend to North Sumatra started. A nice short flight, because an hour later we had already landed. Before we knew it we were sitting in the mini for the four-hour drive to Lake Toba.

Female immigration

When we arrived at Kuala Namu airport we had to pass the always feared immigration. We stood in line by a woman who was handing out the stamps and she didn’t look happy. So that’s always wrong, I think the female immigration is a lot less friendly towards a woman than the male one. Finally, after Jeroen showed her the ticket back to Kuala Lumpur, I got the stamp in my passport.

Bus station

We hadn’t reserved a taxi to Lake Toba in advance. On the internet, we read that you can easily get here at the airport itself. And this was true. When you leave the airport and walk towards the bus station, you will be overwhelmed with men who ask if you need to go to Parapat. You have to wait until they have found enough people for a van, this only takes five minutes. The cost, 9.000 Indonesian rupees per person, about €5.

Volcanic crater

After 3,5 hours the road to the top became smaller and smaller so everyone knew that the lake was almost in sight. After hundreds of monkeys greeted us, we looked out over a huge lake with a huge island in the middle. A beautiful view from the top of the mountain to the huge volcanic crater with a gigantic lagoon below. We stayed in Hotel Atsari in the town of Parapat, where you have a nice view of Lake Toba.

Lost street dog

We had the whole day ahead of us so we decided to take the boat to the island of Samosir. On the way, we walked through a ghost town with closed souvenir shops and some stray dogs. Further on we saw more people and found the local market. Here everyone stared at us. This also happens in Kuala Lumpur, but now it’s even a degree worse. In the evening we found out that we are only one of the first tourists to visit Parapat and Lake Toba this season.

Batak house

Most tourists stay on the island of Samosir in the town of Tuk Tuk. Here you can spend the night in a Batak house, a traditional house with decorations and a pointed roof. The boat from Parapat drops off all guests at their hotel. The owners are already waiting for you there. The people here are very friendly and very curious. They may look at you all the time, but they are also ready to help you. This happens in half English half Indonesian, but eventually, you will get there.

Ghost town

We walked around for two hours in Tuk Tuk where even during the day you won’t find tourists at all. According to the owner of a restaurant, the season still has to start and he hopes that this year many people will visit the island again. It looks a bit sad and one wonders what the people of such a restaurant do all day if there is no one to be found on this island. We have selected some things for the next day, so at six o’clock we took the last boat back to Parapat. Meanwhile, the market was cleaned up and the ghost town returned.